This month authors release new collaborations; take to hair salons for book launches; meet hordes of fans at their first post-Covid appearances; and introduce beloved characters to new audiences.


It’s All a Blur

Author Minh Lê (l.) and illustrator Dan Santat came together for an in-person launch for their new picture book The Blur (Knopf) on May 7. Hosted at La Jolla Riford Library along with Warwick’s bookstore in La Jolla, Calif., the event included readings of both The Blur and a previous collaboration by the pair, Lift (Little, Brown), as well as a discussion on the inspiration behind The Blur, a drawing presentation, and signing.


Hair We Go

LaTonya Yvette (l.) and Amanda Jane Jones fittingly held the launch party for their picture book The Hair Book (Union Square Kids) at Salon, a hair library and salon in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood on May 6. Participants were invited to craft their own DIY face cut-outs inspired by The Hair Book and buy copies of the book, which were sold by Cafe Con Libros.


Boo! R.L. Stine Is Back!

On May 7, author R.L. Stine, creator of the Goosebumps series, made his first author appearance in two years at the Shreveport Library’s Children’s Book Festival on the LSU Shreveport campus. Stine participated in an hour-long talk, a Q&A, and a book signing. The line to meet the beloved author stretched to 1,000 fans.


Fun for Fenway

For her new chapter book series, Make Way for Fenway! (Putnam), Victoria J. Coe participated in local launch events at Chandler K–2 Elementary School in her hometown of Duxbury, Mass., on May 3 and 4. The publication includes the first two books of the series by author Coe and illustrator Joanne Lew-Vriethof, which bring the Jack Russell terrier from the Fenway and Hattie middle grade books to a younger audience.